He ran through the village, toting his shovel. The sun stood high on the sky and moods were high as well as the wind ruffled the grass and shook the leaves. His shoes pattered against the ground and he swivelled nimbly to avoid a patch of tulips he had only a few days ago planted there.
Then, as his eyes caught sight of the something he had sought, he planted his heels and came screeching to a halt. Soon, the blade of the shovel came into the ground with a dry thud, and the boy stepped onto it, putting all his weight on it to drive it into the ground. He needed only remove a bit of soil before the pointed top of something showed itself, glinting dully in the warm light of midday. He threw the spade aside and went down on his knees, removing some soil with his hands and pulling the thing out.
Another gyroid; they fascinated him, and since he had a little empty space he'd started collecting them. It was almost an obsession, the little (creatures? devices? demi-creatures?) things filling almost every inch of the basement, their clamor dampened but still audible upstairs – where yet more of the gyroids stood, thumping, clanging, ringing and whooping.
He pocketed the little object and grabbed his shovel, setting off again, dodging trees and villagers, finding more of the gyroids which were so inexplicably buried around the village. He got home, exhausted and muddy but with the intangible sense of a day well spent, as he set out his newest catch. The things immediately started making noise, zing bang thump went the gyroids, seemingly in response to the sounds of their kin already in the room.
The sun set in a splendor of bloodied sky on the horizon, and the villagers went to sleep one by one. The boy, did, too, and in the night the only sound was the call of the gyroids.
Where did they come from? Who buried them, set them in the ground? What were they, who were they, did they think, did they feel, did they remember and cherish? It was disputable.
But as the boy rose at first light of dawn and went out to dig once more, these thoughts were far from his head.